


The Memory of You

by Musetotheworld



Series: General Danvers & Supercat Week 5 [4]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27091261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: Cat hasn't seen her best friend in fifteen years. Nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Cat Grant
Series: General Danvers & Supercat Week 5 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966114
Comments: 11
Kudos: 123
Collections: General Danvers & Supercat Week 5





	The Memory of You

Cat’s glad for the shade as she sits on the old bench, trying to read but mostly focusing on anyone who walks by. She’s been here for an hour already today, and the sun is a little too warm for her taste. Another thirty minutes and she’ll call it a day.

Honestly, she’s not entirely sure why she still sits out here, waiting. It’s been a month now, and nothing. No sign that her patience will pay off.

And who is she kidding? There’s no reason to think it will. They’d been children, young and stupid. There’s no reason to assume an old promise still holds any meaning. Or that it’s even remembered.

But Cat wants to believe. She wants to hope. Surely this one small part of her childhood won’t be ruined. Is that too much to ask?

Thinking back, Cat remembers sitting in this very spot, making that fateful promise.

_ “We’ll be back. They can’t keep us apart, not once we’re both adults. So we’ll come back. In fifteen years, we’ll meet right here.” _

It’s been fifteen years now, though Cat no longer remembers the exact day they’d made the promise. She’d barely remembered the month. Which is why she’s been visiting the little park every day for the past month, sitting and hoping. She doesn’t want to miss her chance just because she forgot the date.

“Cat?”

The voice is familiar, and yet not. A memory, but different.

Looking up, Cat takes in the woman in front of her, knowing immediately that it’s Kara. It’s really Kara, fifteen years older.

“I wasn’t sure you’d remember,” Cat says, holding herself back from jumping up to pull the other woman into a hug. That’s for children, not grown adults. Even if it has been fifteen years since she saw her best friend.

“I put it on my calendar every time I got a new one. Drove each set of foster parents crazy, but I kept doing it. I’m terrible with dates; I wasn’t going to risk missing it.”

Hearing how Kara’s planned for this day is enough to shake off Cat’s reluctance, and she finally stands for that hug she’d wanted. She tries to keep it contained, appropriate for two old friends meeting after years apart, but she’d forgotten how tactile Kara was. Always starved for touch, and always so surprised when Cat gave it to her.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” Kara whispers into Cat’s hair, her arms tightening in a way Cat doesn’t remember from before. Kara’d always been so gentle, so hesitant. It’s like she never trusted herself, and Cat could never figure out why.

Pulling back from the hug, Cat laughs. “I wasn’t going to let my best friend down, now was I?”

They’re adults, grown and old enough to know better, but there’s a lightness to Cat’s mood as she says the words. A freedom she hasn’t felt since she actually was a child.

With it comes the memory of feelings she’d tried to ignore, tried to hide. Her mother hadn’t been happy about their friendship in the first place, not when Kara was a foster child who went to the private school on scholarship. She wasn’t proper company to keep, was the constant judgment.

Cat hadn’t cared, and her mother never did more than make pointed comments about standards and keeping the right company. Annoying, but easily ignored. At least until Katharine found them sitting too close together, Cat’s head resting on Kara’s shoulder.

Looking back, it was an innocent pose. They were twelve, just kids spending time together. There was nothing even slightly inappropriate about the contact.

But Katharine lost it. Insisted Kara leave that very second and never return, or she’d call the cops on her. There was little she could do about their time together at school, but at the end of the year, Kara’d been sent to a new foster family in another city, and Cat’s family moved to Metropolis, clear across the country.

Now that they’re both adults, those old feelings are back, though Cat’s a master of ignoring them by now. It’s hard enough to get ahead at the Tribune; a relationship of any sort would hold her back. Especially one most people wouldn’t approve of. So she’s learned to look without seeing. It’s easier that way, and no one ever caught her eye enough to challenge that decision.

“So, what have you been up to?” Kara asks as they settle back on the bench, sitting far enough apart they can turn to look at each other. “Did you end up in politics like you wanted?”

Wrinkling her nose at the memory of her old career goal, Cat shakes her head. “No, my mother started dragging me to some of my father’s dinner parties, and the politicians there were all creepy. They lied to each other constantly, and everyone pretended they didn’t all know it was lies. No one would call them on it, so I decided someday I would.”

Looking Cat up and down, Kara nods. “You always did think the truth was important. Remember that time Mark stole the chalk from the board, and you were the only one who’d tell the teacher where it was?”

“Oh, I would’ve told on Mark even if I didn’t like the truth; that boy was trouble and deserved every bit of every detention he got.” Cat doesn’t mention her anger had a lot to do with the way Mark always put Kara down. They’d been children, even him. Who knows if he’s finally managed to grow up and out of his more unfortunate personality traits.

Kara just smiles, waving for Cat to continue. “I’m a writer with the Tribune now, the local section. It’s better than what the Daily Planet offered, even if they’re the more prestigious paper. I’d rather report on real news, even if it’s not exactly what I want, than be stuck on the gossip column.”

“They wanted to put you on  _ gossip?”  _

If it were anyone but Kara, Cat would probably be very offended right now. But she knows Kara, fifteen years of separation or no. Kara was her best friend, her greatest confidant. The one person who understood her, no matter what. Not even a decade and a half can change things that much.

“That was my reaction, though I’m fairly certain it had more to do with who my mother is than my qualifications.”

The name Katharine Grant had a weight to it, whether for good or bad. And Cat’s spent too long fighting against it to believe she can beat it that easily. At least in National City, it wasn’t as bad. Cat was still on the minor articles, but they were articles that mattered. And she’d get to the top a lot faster this way than she would stuck in Metropolis.

“How is your mother?” Kara asks, her tone somewhere between resigned and polite. 

“Still the same hag I’m sure you remember.” Katharine was always scathing, but Kara’d been her focus far too often. It was one of Cat’s greatest reasons to dislike her mother, even now. “Speaking of which, I should apologize on her behalf.”

That has Kara shaking her head immediately, reaching out to rest a hand on Cat’s knee. “No, there’s no reason you should apologize for her. You and I, we did nothing wrong. And if someday she realizes that, then she can apologize to me herself. But you shouldn’t feel guilty for what she did.”

Not entirely sure what to say, Cat moves a hand to cover Kara’s while she thinks. The warmth against her skin is comforting, even through her slacks, and helps ground Cat more than anything else ever managed. But then, that was always Kara’s gift.

“Well, I’m still sorry that things turned out the way they did. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Neither of us did.” Cat goes to protest, but Kara looks uncharacteristically serious, enough to still the words before Cat can say them. “No, really. I know you didn’t like the school that much, but it was still familiar. You didn’t deserve being moved across the country just because your mother is a judgemental witch.”

It’s so mild compared to the dozens of things Cat’s called her mother over the years, but hearing the insult from Kara of all people makes it sound terrible. Kara’d always seen the best in people, and even ten minutes after reuniting, Cat can tell that hasn’t changed either. But if anyone could overcome Kara’s innate positivity, it’d be Katharine.

“Ugh, why are we spending time talking about my mother? I haven’t seen you in fifteen years, and she’s still causing us problems,” Cat grumbles as she realizes she hasn’t asked Kara what she does these days. Or where she went to college, or anything else about her life.

Including whether she’s seeing anyone, but Cat’s almost afraid to ask that one. Not when her emotions are all over the place between ‘this is my best friend’ and ‘holy shit, she’s gorgeous’.

The inner conflict only grows when Kara tosses her head back to laugh, her blonde locks catching the sun in a way that almost seems staged. She really is gorgeous, whatever Cat’s confusing emotions are doing.

“Then let’s forget about her. You work at the Tribune now, what’s that like?”

Kara’s honest curiosity is all Cat needs to set aside her worries and focus on the conversation. She shares some of the latest office gossip, gradually learning about Kara’s life as the conversation goes on. It’s the most fun she’s had in years, and she’s mortified when her stomach growls in the middle of Kara telling her about one of the kids in her kindergarten class.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.” It’s been a long time since lunch, but that doesn’t help her embarrassment.

“Are you kidding? Don’t you remember how much I can eat? Let’s find a restaurant and get some dinner; I’ll buy.”

Cat’s grateful for the way Kara doesn’t laugh or judge, but she also wonders if she’d heard correctly. During her time at the Tribune, she’s learned quickly to pick up on subtle hints in the way people say things. And unless she misses her guess, there was something in Kara’s tone. Something that tells her maybe the confusing feelings aren’t all that one-sided.

Almost not believing her own bravery, Cat stands and offers Kara her hand. “I know the perfect place, so it’s a date.”

There’s a flash of surprise in Kara’s eyes, but no hesitation as she takes the offered hand. Instead, once Kara’s also risen from the bench, she links their arms together, waving for Cat to lead the way.

A promising first move, though Cat reminds herself to be realistic. Kara might not feel the same way. Things might not work out. There are a dozen reasons why things might not end up the way Cat wants. But she knows, deep down, that nothing could go so badly she loses Kara as a friend. Her best friend, even after years of distance. And that makes the risk worth it.


End file.
